A/N: Sorry it took so long to post this, I've been feeling pretty ill lately (if I was a horse, I'd have been taken behind the barn and shot.) But I'm feeling a bit better now. Hope you like it.
Dai Shi made his way quietly through the fortress with Camille. She was used to stealth missions, but this time was different. This time it wasn't just her life that depended on it, this time Fran's life also hung in the balance. Dai Shi was right about one thing, Grizzaka had always been highly dismissive of humans, and his obsession was with their absolute destruction. He had been the first of the Overlords to trap himself in his beast form, and had done so deliberately. He'd seen his human side as being the weakest part of him and had taken the first opportunity to rid himself of his humanity for good. Dai Shi listened at the entrance to the throne chamber for a second; he got a feeling that they were discussing something important.
"It has been 10,000 years since the last beast war." Baracuzza stated, approaching the throne.
"Yes, and that one did not go so well." Grizakka replied. "By the time I'm finished, no human will walk the earth."
Dai Shi knew that Carnisoar and Jellica were in the throne room. He knew at that moment that his suspicions were correct. They had indeed chosen to side themselves with Grizzaka.
"No humans." He mused to himself as he turned from the entrance. "I will not be brushed aside so easily." He couldn't see Camille, but he knew she was there. As he headed off in the direction of the library, he gestured for her to follow.
"Just remember that you are human too." He reminded her. "As is your little friend, it would be in your best interests to help me."
Camille knew he was right. She and Fran didn't stand a chance if they were found in the fortress. Reluctantly, she followed Dai Shi to the library. She knew there was no guarantee that Dai Shi would release them after he found the map, but right now the odds of survival were better siding with him than with Grizzaka.
Back in her concrete cell, Fran sat cross-legged with her eyes closed along with Master Mao, concentrating on her meditation. She was amazed at how much further she was getting now than she was in the park. She could now see clearly into her higher consciousness, searching her mind for any sign of her animal spirit.
"You're doing well Fran." Master Mao told her encouragingly. He took her hands in his once more, assisting her in her search. "Open your heart to the spirit, it will come to you."
Fran reached out into the ether, searching for any sign of another presence. Suddenly, a flash of orange energy flashed across her mind's eye. She felt her heart skip a beat as she felt another presence; she could almost swear she heard another's thoughts in her mind.
"I felt her!" Fran yelped as her eyes shot open, bringing her back into reality. "I felt her in my mind."
"You've just achieved the first stage." He told her with a smile. "Now, take my hands and we'll continue."
Fran took his hands and closed her eyes as she prepared to go deeper.
The Rangers and Flit were in hot pursuit of RJ, hoping to stop him before he hurt anyone else. Casey groaned as the solar morphers bleeped. Putting on his glasses, he saw the images from the automated alert system, showing Baracuzza attacking the city.
"I'll go after RJ; you two have bigger fish to fry." Casey told them. He noticed that Lily was a little reluctant to go, the look in her eyes gave her away.
"Lily, I promise I won't hurt him unless I have to." Casey told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You know he has to be stopped; you know we might have to hurt him to do it."
She wordlessly nodded in understanding. She knew she wouldn't be able to hurt him, even if she needed to. It tore her apart inside to have to go through this again. She still couldn't understand how he had lost control, Dr. Hartford's procedure had allowed RJ to heal his wolf spirit, and so why was this happening to him. She and Theo ran off in the opposite direction to confront Baracuzza while Casey and Flit chased after RJ.
Back in her cell, Fran was reaching much further into her mind than she'd ever have known was possible before today. Master Mao continued to guide her on her journey into her mind in search of her animal spirit. This time, it was much easier to find it, though it still wasn't revealing itself to her. She could see the energy of it in a misty, orange swirl.
"It's just as nervous as you." Master Mao explained, speaking in a low, soothing voice. "Reach out with your heart, let it know you mean well."
Fran could almost feel herself reaching out to touch it. A warm, pleasant wave of energy washed over her as she could feel its presence even more clearly in her heart. The energy started to shift a little, revealing more of itself as it started to shift into its true form. She had never felt such an amazing sense of completeness in her life; it was as if she was finding a part of her that she had been missing her entire life. What happened next surprised even Master Mao, as it came forth, manifesting before her.
"I have never had a student call their animal spirit so quickly." He stated the shock obvious on her face. Fran looked at the small ethereal creature pacing the floor before her.
"That's my animal spirit?" She asked him, gaping in awe at the animal before her.
"Are you surprised?" He asked her. "The animal spirit takes on a form that most represents its bearer."
"Somehow I'm not really surprised by its form." She told him.
"Why would you be?" He asked her. "You're quick-witted, intelligent, cunning and loyal. I think it really fits."
"But it's so..."
"Small?" He chuckled. "Everyone says that at first. The thing to remember is that animal spirits are just like real animals and people. They grow with time and training. It'll become more powerful as you become more in tune with it. Right now, you've only just accessed it, it's not small it's an infant."
Fran reached out a hand, stroking the top of its head, feeling her connection to it as she observed the tiny spirit. She looked into its eyes and immediately understood everything Theo had told her about animal spirits. The spirit dissipated and drew back within her.
"It..."
"It's still weak." He reminded her. "You will be able to bring it out for longer periods eventually."
Fran sighed and slumped down a little in the corner. She was happy with her accomplishment, she knew how much of an achievement it was that she had summoned her animal spirit, but she still couldn't help feeling a little isolated. Her animal spirit was a mere cub, it would be a long time before it would be of use to the team, and she was still just the bumbling sidekick of the team. Now she was the damsel in distress, getting herself kidnapped by Dai Shi because of her friendship with the team.
"I would have thought you'd be happier." Master Mao commented, seeing her reaction.
"I am happy." She sighed, wiping away a small tear. "I now understand what everyone's been talking about, I now get how important their animal spirits are to them."
"So why are you still upset?" He asked her. Fran couldn't really look at him, she felt embarrassed to be talking with him about this. He had given her a tremendous gift by training her to call her animal spirit. It seemed so silly to still be upset, but there was something about him that made her feel at ease with talking to him.
"I...I just feel a little lonely at times." She admitted to him. "I mean, the others are Rangers..."
"And you feel left out." Master Mao interrupted her. "You're part of the team. Sure, you might not be wearing a brightly coloured spandex bodysuit and fighting monsters, but you're one of them."
"Please, they go out and save the world on a daily basis." Fran blurted out, wiping a fresh tear from her face. "I'm just the one that serves the pizzas when they're gone. Now I'm the one that gets kidnapped to force them to do what he wants."
"You are a very insecure person Fran." He told her, touching her arm. "Who protected Lily when Dai Shi attacked her in the restaurant while she was blind?"
"I did." She murmured, shifting a little on the floor.
"Who calmed Theo down when he wanted to go after Dai Shi for hurting you, despite having more reason than anyone to want him harmed?" He asked her.
"I did." Fran replied.
"Who comforted Casey when Camille went back to Dai Shi?" He asked her in conclusion.
"I did." She replied again. Master Mao placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him, finally able to look him in the eye.
"Never underestimate your importance to the team Fran." He told her. "You really are an amazing young woman."
With that, he disappeared, leaving her alone in the cell. Only a short time ago, she'd have panicked at the prospect of being left alone in the cell, but now she felt a whole lot calmer. Somehow she knew that her friends would get her out of there safely.
Back in Ocean Bluff, Casey and Flit were still chasing down RJ. Flit blasted him with a sound wave, stunning him momentarily. Casey took the opportunity to grab RJ, holding him in place.
"RJ, it's me." He called out as he struggled against the wolf's strength.
"Hold him steady." Flit told him.
"What are you doing?" Casey asked him, still struggling to hold him.
"You'll see." Flit replied. He connected to RJ's mind, finding him inside fighting his animal spirit.
"RJ, this is wrong, it's all wrong." He told him. "Your wolf spirit is a part of you; it's what makes you a master. You've somehow been deceived."
RJ thought about what he was saying. The wolf spirit wasn't injured in any way; there was no reason for it to be acting this way. He couldn't understand how he had missed such an obvious ruse.
"RJ, I can sense another spirit in there, that's what's deceiving you. That's what you need to fight, join with your wolf spirit. Give it nowhere to hide."
RJ grabbed the wolf, holding it steady to prevent its attack. Energy flared, once more fusing RJ with his wolf spirit. It was not long before Grizzaka's evil spirit was exposed. Casey saw a golden energy ball leaving RJ's chest, before evaporating into the ether.
"RJ, you're back!" Casey yelled, seeing the wolf master return to his human form.
"Not a moment too soon." RJ replied. It was then that he noticed Flit had collapsed onto a nearby table.
"Flit, we need to know, what's wrong." RJ told him.
"I need to get back into Camille's stomach." He replied weakly. It was obvious that the little guy was completely wiped out. "If I'm away from her for too long, I start to get weaker."
"How long do you think you have?" RJ asked him, realising what the ultimate outcome could be.
"I think maybe I have a few more hours." He guessed. "I don't know I've never been away from her for this long."
"RJ, we have to worry about that later." Casey told him. "Lily and Theo need our help on the other side of town."
RJ wrapped a cloth around the fly to keep him warm. He didn't want to leave the little guy alone, but Casey was right, Flit would be safe for the time being, at the moment, Theo and Lily were the ones in the most immediate danger. With that, they morphed and made their way to the battle site.
Back in the fortress, Dai Shi and Camille arrived in the library. Dai Shi closed the door behind him, allowing Camille to de-cloak and come back into view.
"The sooner you find me that map, the sooner you get to go free." He told her, gesturing to the assorted pile of scrolls. "You know more about how these are filed than I do."
Camille made her way over to one of the cabinets, throwing it open. She started to sort through the scrolls, finding what she was looking for. She handed it to her former lover, allowing him to inspect it. A sinister smile came to his lips as he realised he had what he was looking for.
"They say the Rhino Nexus holds unimaginable power." He stated with a satisfied chuckle. "There I will be able to harness my Zukado power." As he turned to leave, Camille surged forward, grabbing his shoulder.
"You said you'd let Fran go." She shrieked, realising he was leaving.
"I must leave; the Overlords are planning my destruction." He told her. "But soon I will have the power I need."
"Dai Shi, you can't leave her here!" Camille yelled, turning him to face her, risking his wrath. "Please, if I ever meant anything to you..."
"Do not stand in my way again." He snarled as he brought the back of his hand painfully across her face.
"If I..." Camille felt some tears beginning to form as she continued to plead with him. "If our child ever meant anything to you, please keep your word."
Dai Shi stopped in his tracks. She had managed to find the one thing she could say that would reach his heart. The pain of losing his child was still raw to him when he was reminded of that night. He swept his face with his palms as he felt the tears beginning to run down his face. Turning to face her, he gave her an amulet.
"This will open the room she's being held in." He told her. "I know you're trying not to use your dark energies. You will find a portal in the northern clearing. Concentrate on Ocean Bluff and you'll be transported. Take your friend and go."
"Thank you." She whispered, taking the amulet from him.
"Just remember, now my debt to you is repaid, and you choose to stand against me." He reminded her. "If we meet again, we will meet as enemies, both you and your friend."
"I understand." She replied, cloaking before turning to leave the room. "Take care."
"And you." He replied, also taking the opportunity to leave before the overlords could find him and realise his treachery. He knew that it was only a matter of time before they'd seek to destroy him; the writing was on the wall. As much as fleeing his fortress galled him, at least it would give him a fighting chance.
Back in Ocean Bluff, Lily and Theo were finding themselves in difficulty. Baracuzza had called in the reinforcements, and it was now becoming more than a little too much to handle. RJ arrived on the scene first, finding a safe spot to lay down Flit, before throwing himself into the fray.
"RJ!" Lily called out as he arrived, taking out some of their foes.
"I'm back." He told her. "My flea-bitten days are over."
"That's just as well." Theo commented. "I'd have hated to be the one giving you tick baths."
Casey arrived a short while later, taking out a number of their enemies with the strike rider. A short battle later left Baracuzza alone to face the Rangers.
"Two of you weren't enough, and neither are four." He taunted them, launching to the attack. RJ caught him off guard, hammering him brutally with a barrage of attacks. The monster reeled under the brutal assault. RJ powered up his wolf morpher, destroying Baracuzza completely.
"Welcome back RJ!" Lily screeched, launching herself into a passionate hug. Her heart soared to have the man she loved back with her. It wasn't fair that they had to go through this all again, she would gladly destroy Grizzaka or making her face that pain again.
"Thanks guys, it's good to be back." He told them. Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted as Barakuzza grew to massive size.
"I guess we should have seen that coming." Lily snapped, more than a little angry that her moment with RJ had been interrupted.
"If you want a supersize battle," RJ barked, "you got it."
Back in the fortress, Fran's attention was grabbed as the wall flew open. Camille reached forward, grabbing her hand and helping her to her feet.
"Fran, we have to go." She rushed out, gesturing to the door. "Follow me."
"Can you cloak both of us?" Fran asked her.
"Unfortunately I can't." Camille answered honestly. "We have to move quickly, hurry up."
They ran from the room, making their way quickly down the corridor. Fran followed Camille closely, hoping they wouldn't meet much resistance; however that was quickly proven to be a futile hope. Taking a turn, they were confronted by some Rinshi warriors.
"Wrong turn." Fran screamed, kicking one of the warriors aside. "Is there another way around?"
"Follow me!" Camille called out, taking another corridor.
"It's not like I have much of a choice." Fran replied, following her. It was a frantic chase as they barrelled through the catacombs of the fortress, leading outside to the northern clearing.
"Where's the portal?" Camille shrieked, finding no sign of it.
"Camille, we really don't have time for this!" Fran reminded her as their pursuers caught up with them. Fran and Camille prepared guards as they advanced.
"Fran, I'm going to use my beast form." Camille told her.
"Camille, you've worked too hard to avoid that." Fran replied. "You can't..."
"It's the only way I'll have the power to get us out of this." Camille told her. It was then that salvation came in a most unlikely form. The gold and black armoured warrior ploughed through the Rinshi with ease, destroying the guard contingent. He powered down back to his human form.
"Dai Shi?" Camille asked, completely confused by his actions. He gestured over to a large, twisted old oak tree with a large split running up its trunk.
"The portal is in the hollow." He told her. "Goodbye Camille."
"Goodbye." She replied as they made their way through the portal. They found themselves arriving back in Ocean Bluff, just as Barrakuza was destroyed. The Rangers all gathered round Flit.
"We'll try to get you back to Camille." RJ told him. We don't know where she is..."
"I'm here." She answered, sprinting to the scene. "Flit, I'm sorry, Dai Shi kidnapped us."
"Well, you're here now." He responded weakly. It was obvious that he didn't have much time left. "Go on Camille, do what you know you have to."
With that, she used her tongue to draw him back into her stomach. There was a slight look of regret on her face.
"Camille, what's the story with you and Flit?" Fran asked her. "You always seem so upset when we try to ask."
"Flit is the biggest regret of my life." She told them. "He's the worst thing I've ever done."
Back at JKP, the team gathered round as Camille prepared to explain. "Flit was once a powerful enemy of mine; I was locked in a fierce battle with him."
"What happened?" RJ asked her.
"He was about to defeat me, but I had a secret weapon. Dai Shi had given me magical larva dust. I sprayed him with it, casting a powerful curse. It turned him into a fly." A few tears rolled down her face as she recalled the rest of the conflict. "I imprisoned him in my stomach and took him back to the fortress. I intended to keep him prisoner there, but something went wrong."
"What?" Casey asked her.
"Dai Shi never told me the true effects of the dust." She replied. "As he sat in his cage, it worried me that he didn't change back, but also that he seemed to be getting weaker. When I looked up the effects of the dust's power, I realised that not only did it turn him into a fly; it made him dependent on me for survival. He needs to remain in my stomach. If he's out for too long he'll die."
"So you took him back into your stomach." RJ surmised.
"I couldn't just let him die." She sniffed, wiping away some tears. "Over time we've reached an understanding. From the moment I realised what I had done to him, I swore that I would do everything I could to break the curse."
"I take it you haven't figured it out yet." Casey concluded, putting an arm around her. Camille shook her head sadly.
"The curse is more powerful than I could have imagined." She told them. "I'm still searching for a cure."
"We'll help you in any way we can." Casey reassured her. As they gathered around her, comforting her, Fran gestured to Theo to join her in a side room. Moving inside, she closed the door behind them, kissing him softly.
"I'm really sorry; I know I've been acting strangely recently." She began, holding him closely.
"Fran, you always act strangely." He responded, kissing her again. "It's one of the things I love about you."
"You know what I mean." She pressed on, pushing him away a little. "Sometimes I just feel a little left out, you know...inferior."
"Fran, that's..."
"Let me finish." She interrupted him. "What you guys do on a daily basis is amazing. You save people's lives without a thought for yourselves."
"We've been trained to do that." Theo told her. "Fran, we all care about you."
"I know it's just that...you all have this shared history that I didn't understand." He continued. "I've known RJ for years, but I had no idea about Pai Zhuq or his animal spirit or any of that. It felt like you all had a connection that I never would."
"Fran, I love you." He told her softly. "I've never thought any less of you because you weren't a Pai Zhuq."
"But I did." She told him. "But something happened that changed that while I was being held prisoner by Dai Shi. Master Mao came to me."
"He did?" He asked her. "What did he say?"
"He told me I was an important member of the team." She replied. "He made me feel a lot better about myself."
"He always was able to do that." Theo chuckled in response.
"He also said that he knew why you cared about me so much," she carried on, "he also taught me how to channel my animal spirit."
"He did?" Theo asked a little confused.
Fran concentrated, calling it forth once more. Both she and Theo marvelled as it began pacing the room.
"It's a fox." He stated.
"Master Mao said it suits me." She replied. "Quick-witted, intelligent and cunning is what he said."
"And cute." He added, reaching out and stroking the fox cub spirit standing before him. "So do you feel better now?"
"In a way I do, but not for the reason I thought." She replied. "I wanted to learn to channel my animal spirit to understand you better."
"And now?" He asked.
"Now I feel like I've found a part of myself I didn't even know was missing." She replied. With that, they fell into a warm embrace, taking comfort in the still of the early evening. It
hadn't been the best of routes, but Fran had achieved what she had wanted all along. She didn't feel alone among her friends anymore.
Fin.